This invention relates to tool components.
It has been proposed in the literature to produce tool components by depositing a layer of diamond by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) on a surface of a cemented carbide substrate. One of the difficulties which such a method gives rise to is the achievement of a strong bond between the CVD diamond layer and the substrate.
Chemical vapour deposition of diamond involves the synthesis of diamond from the gas phase. The process generally involves providing a mixture of hydrogen or oxygen gas and a suitable gaseous carbon compound such as a hydrocarbon, applying sufficient energy to that gas to dissociate the hydrogen or oxygen into atomic hydrogen or oxygen and the gas into active carbon ions, atoms or CH radicals, and allowing such active species to deposit as diamond on a substrate. Dissociation of the gases can take place by a variety of methods. These methods include the use of a hot filament, a plasma assisted method using microwave, RF or DC plasma, or the use of a plasma jet.